How to make a sponge filter and pump Q?

[emerald76]

Hi,
I have an air pump rated for 170 gal and want a shrimp tank. I have four outlets on the pump- they are all in use but only until my ich treatment is over. I was recommended to get a sponge filter for the shrimp bowl I want. How do I make one and is it possible to make it small enough to not be obstructing the bowl view? Also, how many outlets off the pump do I need?


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[Mebbid]

How big of a shrimp tank are you planning?

 

[emerald76]

2 gal bowl or so


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[Mebbid]

Many well stocked LFS sell some wide diameter solid plastic tubing. It's about 1" in diameter or so.

You can get one of these and poke / drill some holes in the bottom for water flow.

Pull some airline tubing all the way through it so it sticks out the bottom and put an airstone on it.

loosely roll up some cut to size filter batting and stick it in the bottom of the plastic tube

Pull the airstone so that it pulls the filter batting inside the tube and so the airstone is above the holes in the bottom of the tube.

Voila, a highy effective very well oxygenated filter.

 

[emerald76]

How does it work?


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[Mebbid]

The air pulls water up through the filter media as well as oxygenating it creating a perfect place for bacterial growth.

 

[emerald76]

Cool okay thanks!


Emerald76

 

[PerfectDepth]

Yesterday I made a filter for a shrimp breeding tank out of a small plastic water bottle.

I made some holes in the side near the bottom of the bottle. I had a aquaclear coarse sponge and cut a square the same size as the diameter of the water bottle. I cut a slit across the bottom of the bottle, and put the sponge about in the middle of the bottle. Then I put a rock (to weigh it down) and some poly-fill below the sponge.

I made two holes in the cap for the airlines, then cut a short piece of airline, about 4", from a section of airline that had a curl to it and put it in the cap so that it sticks out the top and curls over (and doesn't extend very far into the bottle, maybe 1/8" - 1/4"). This pulls water through as the air bubbles up through it. You can use a bit larger size of vinyl tubing for this part if you need more flow, I just used airline since it's all I had.

Then I put the other airline through the cap, attached a small airstone that drops down into the bottle and sits on top of the sponge. The other end attaches to the pump, of course. I put the airstone in first, then added some established ceramic bio-media (biomax) on top of the airstone. Now I have an instantly cycled shrimp tank to start breeding RCS.

 

[Mebbid]

Yesterday I made a filter for a shrimp breeding tank out of a small plastic water bottle.

I made some holes in the side near the bottom of the bottle. I had a aquaclear coarse sponge and cut a square the same size as the diameter of the water bottle. I cut a slit across the bottom of the bottle, and put the sponge about in the middle of the bottle. Then I put a rock (to weigh it down) and some poly-fill below the sponge.

I made two holes in the cap for the airlines, then cut a short piece of airline, about 4", from a section of airline that had a curl to it and put it in the cap so that it sticks out the top and curls over (and doesn't extend very far into the bottle, maybe 1/8" - 1/4"). This pulls water through as the air bubbles up through it. You can use a bit larger size of vinyl tubing for this part if you need more flow, I just used airline since it's all I had.

Then I put the other airline through the cap, attached a small airstone that drops down into the bottle and sits on top of the sponge. The other end attaches to the pump, of course. I put the airstone in first, then added some established ceramic bio-media (biomax) on top of the airstone. Now I have an instantly cycled shrimp tank to start breeding RCS.

Thats about how I usually make my filters, but a water bottle is a bit much for a tank this small. Also a bit overkill for just shrimp.

 

[PerfectDepth]

It's a really tiny water bottle. 6 or 8 oz. I'm not sure.

 

[PB_Smith]

here is the basic principle involved.
I'm sure you can use your imagination to use materials on hand and to suit your particular needs.

 

[PB_Smith]

considering the small size you could just as easily use an undergravel filter for goldfish bowls, then it would be completely unobtrusive.

 

[PerfectDepth]

considering the small size you could just as easily use an undergravel filter for goldfish bowls, then it would be completely unobtrusive.

and probably quieter.

 

[Azure Lord]

So it should work? Does the airline to stay under water too or should it be above water?

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[1998golfer]

I needed to make a filter for an upcoming snail tank.. it's a 6.5g mini-bow.

Here's what I did:

(The tube was an old container for api test strips)

I had no idea what I was doing... But it looks like its working, the bubbles are going up through the tube so I hope it'll work.

The biomedia is seeded from my main tank
The 'filter pads' is wrapped around the bottom and outside bottom of the tube, as I didn't have a sponge..

Holes are drilled on the bottom and sides at the very bottom

It's about 6 inches tall 3/4" or so diameter.

(took me 30 seconds in paint, I know it's crap )

and here's a pic:

 

[PerfectDepth]

So it should work? Does the airline to stay under water too or should it be above water?

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It's working great.. not much water flow, mostly air going up through the small airline, but enough flow for a shrimp tank (and it also should be great for bio-filtration.

If you mean the outlet, no it doesn't have to be below water, but you'll want it underwater. It gurgles and spits and will be even noisier above water than it already is. I should warn that it is quite noisy. I don't mind since it's just a breeding tank in the basement. If I was making something for a display tank, I'd use a larger diameter lift tube. Vinyl tubing that fits over the threads on the mouth of the bottle would be able to handle the stream of bubbles without gurgling. Then you'd have to run the airline through the side of the bottle and connect the airstone, or even just drop it down through the tube.

Edited to add:
You may have noticed that some sponge filters are designed with a right angle turn at the top of the lift tube. The idea is to pull more water through since the water will hit the top and swirl outward with the stream of bubbles.


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